Wizard Bloodline

The blood-red suns hung almost parallel in the white sky.

It seemed their presence had dispelled the maddening voices that plagued him.

Inexplicably, a strong yearning arose within the boy.

He began running toward the two blood-red suns, as if chasing a sacred belief.

Through the endless snowfields, the raging blizzard couldn't hinder his steps.

He drew closer to the blood-red suns.

He didn't know how long he'd been running, seemingly crossing countless glaciers.

Finally, amid a storm that seemed ready to tear the world apart, he climbed a steep ice peak.

Standing at the summit, swirling frost formed a vortex above his head.

Yet his eyes only saw the two blood-red suns in the sky.

He reached out, striving to touch them.

But unexpectedly, in the next moment—

Two more blood-red suns appeared beside the first pair.

Then a fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth...

The blood-red suns appeared in pairs, hanging at different heights in the sky.

The raging blizzard had stopped without him realizing it.

The two blood-red suns he first saw suddenly approached him, followed by—

An indescribably massive, terrifying snake head silently emerged from the storm, appearing before him.

The giant snake's head was covered in dark blue scales, and the so-called suns were its enormous blood-red eyes.

It stared coldly at the boy.

The boy's pupils contracted, frozen in place.

And then, the nauseating, evil voices returned, shouting at him with unprecedented intensity—

"Frost... Hecarto Frost!... Hecarto!... Hecarto!!"

Hecarto—the name of the Ancient Frost Hydra!

"Damn it! What kind of ancient bloodline did the Sacred Blood Tree purify from the Ice Crystal Serpent's blood?" Bennigo muttered, retreating to the valley's edge.

He had forcibly brought the Sacred Blood Tree with him.

Looking into the valley, he saw it filled with a primal, ancient aura radiating from one figure.

Ronan!

Ronan stood silently, surrounded by three intertwined extraordinary ice domains.

Bennigo sensed a vast amount of ice energy particles converging on the valley, forming a visible funnel-shaped vortex.

These particles, enough to fill the valley with solid ice, disappeared into Ronan as if into a bottomless abyss, with no reaction.

Yet the three ice domains around Ronan began merging faster, becoming indistinguishable, evolving into a new domain aura, tens of times more powerful than before, rising like mist from Ronan.

"Three-domain fusion!"

Bennigo's eyes widened, even after witnessing Ronan's extraordinary feats, he couldn't help but be moved.

Just after advancing to a second-level wizard, Ronan grasped three-domain fusion.

Bennigo couldn't find words to describe such talent.

Even as a prodigy of the Ring, having seen many exceptional wizards, Ronan stood unparalleled.

Three-domain fusion's difficulty matched two-domain resonance.

And two-domain resonance was a realm only third-level wizards could touch!

"What kind of bloodline did he fuse with?" Bennigo murmured, eyes fixed on Ronan.

As the three-domain aura rose, changes appeared on Ronan, and Bennigo's pupils narrowed.

He saw Ronan's white hair turning deep blue from the roots, fine dark blue scales with ancient patterns forming on his neck and cheeks.

Ronan's body became more slender and elegant, his features nearing an eerie beauty.

He slowly rose from the valley floor, his deep blue hair extending over ten meters, dancing like auroras.

The fused domain aura and ancient primal aura emanating from him coalesced into a shadowy hydra in the valley sky.

At this moment, Ronan's bloodline aura reached a peak.

Mysterious, ancient, noble, evil, majestic...

When the hydra slowly opened its eyes, Bennigo felt an overwhelming urge to kneel and worship.

It was the most ancient bloodline pressure imprinted in living beings' souls.

Bennigo trembled, speechless.

In the distant forest, the Ice Crystal Serpent, feeding to recover its bloodline loss, sensed the aura.

Its crimson eyes filled with confusion and fear, instinctively lowering its massive body.

It didn't understand what was happening, just felt it must submit.

A silent domain expanded from the valley, spreading outward.

All creatures sensing the aura stopped, submitted, knelt, silently worshiping the sudden presence of an ancient supreme ruler.

Finally, as the aura dissipated, the hydra's shadow vanished, and calm returned.

Floating above the valley, Ronan's body returned to normal.

He slowly opened his eyes, still dazed and confused.

It was as if he had just traversed time, awakening from a long dream.

Ronan remained immersed in the dream, gazing at the sky, whispering, "Bennigo, I saw a massive, terrifying hydra."

After a long time, he received a murmured response.

"I saw it... too..."

Seven days later.

Outside the Silver Ring, at a waterfall in the vast forest.

White water cascaded from the cliff, crashing into the pool below, eroding the rocks with a thunderous roar.

The mist formed a vibrant rainbow in the sunlight, surrounded by lush greenery, creating a majestic and beautiful scene.

A figure stood silently amidst the splendor.

Powerful energy currents flowed around him, mysterious energies surging from him, forming a grand domain force.

Pure black energy particles orbited him like microscopic black holes, collapsing air and bending light.

There were 499 pure black particles in total.

These particles slowly revolved around the figure.

Gradually, a 500th black particle emerged.

With its emergence, the surging energy calmed instantly, and the waterfall's roar faded away.

Everything fell silent.

Countless energy particles gathered silently, the 500 black particles merging into them, forming a seven-colored river.

Like a mythical river from legend, tranquil yet overwhelming.

The rainbow river flowed through the silver waterfall, which silently vanished, interrupted.

"Huff—"

Controlling the rainbow river, the figure sighed in relief.

"Finally, [Energy Missile - Particle Stream] resonates at the first domain level."

Ronan's eyes flickered, activating the [Mirror Light] rune.

Instantly, more energy particles gathered, and the rainbow river doubled.

Above and below, it seemed divided by an invisible mirror.

In the next second, the two rivers merged, doubling in power, silent yet vast, shaking the waterfall.

Experiment complete, Ronan dismissed the [Particle Stream - Spear of the Rainbow] spell.

Achieving first domain resonance in [Spear of the Rainbow] was far more potent than his previous "clever" use of the [Mirror Light] rune.

Now, if he used [Mirror Light], the power was even more terrifying.

Ronan estimated it was like raising [Particle Stream] master's proficiency by several hundred points beyond 500.

The [Mirror Light] rune couldn't perfectly replicate [Particle Stream]'s domain resonance, but even partial replication was impressive.

"If I face Clemens now, this spell alone could match his [Aeon Hand]."

Ronan was confident, even if Clemens was a late second-level wizard, two minor realms above him.

This gap could be bridged by Ronan's superior domain mastery and mental power quality.

He opened his character panel.

[Name: Ronan Damien]

[Age: 17]

[Talents: No Attribute Affinity, Immaculate Body (Active), Lake of No Thought (Active)]

[Strength: Second-Level Official Wizard (2%)]

[Skills: Basic Meditation - Void Realm (Master 511/1600)

Energy Missile - Particle Stream (Master 500/1600)

Charged Weapon - Dispel Power (Master 286/1600)

Ice Sphere - Despair Freeze (Master 411/1600)

Frost Ray - Ice Veins (Master 325/1600)

Ice Blade - Frost Soldier (Master 257/1600)

Ascetic Body Training (Master 489/1600)]

After advancing to second-level, despite the Mind Flayer Extract, Meditation Array, and over 500 master points in Basic Meditation, Ronan's mental power growth was still slow.

Or rather, his natural growth wasn't slow, but compared to the mental power needed for advancement, it was insufficient.

After crystallization, each increase in mental power required a substantial amount, making rapid advancement through meditation unrealistic.

"I still need external resources. With my master-level Basic Meditation, I'm not afraid of minor mental impurities. It's the most suitable cultivation method."

The only issue was, the higher the level, the rarer resources that significantly boosted mental power became, often requiring discovery in ancient relics.

"Hopefully, the upcoming Mirror Court will yield results."

Ronan thought, looking at his hands.

Long, proportionate, white, smooth, possibly more beautiful than many women's hands.

The hands of a true wizard.

Only Ronan knew the terrifying power within them.

Seven days had passed since he fused with the "Ancient Frost Hydra" bloodline.

No one expected the pureblood Ancient Ice Crystal Serpent bloodline, after purification, to awaken a trace of "Ancient Frost Hydra" bloodline power.

"Hecarto..."

Ronan whispered the ancient name, heard in the bloodline inheritance dream.

Representing the pinnacle of frost bloodlines, a ruler among ancient beasts, born with five heads, possibly growing to eight.

Each head symbolized an extreme frost power.

This, Ronan discovered in related legends afterward.

The bloodline crystal still lodged in his heart, each heartbeat bringing a stab of pain, a constant companion for seven days.

Each pain signified another trace of Ancient Frost Hydra bloodline merging with his body.

This gradual integration brought a subtle transformation.

His physical strength continued growing without increasing master-level [Ascetic Body Training], purely from the bloodline effect.

Additionally, his resistance to ice spells increased significantly. Most surprisingly, his understanding of ice spells seemed to enter a new realm.

Ideas for ice spells frequently sparked in his mind.

His character panel's ice spell proficiencies soared with this inspiration.

The three extraordinary ice domains not only began formal fusion but also rapidly increased in proficiency, nearing parity in just seven days.

Though Ronan's talent panel didn't list "Ice Attribute Affinity," only he knew his ice spell talent far surpassed any elemental affinity wizard prodigy.

"For such talent, even if my body undergoes atavistic frost hydra mutations, it's acceptable."

Ronan felt the pain from his heart with a sense of satisfaction.

"With this bloodline talent, staying ahead of the Ice Crystal Serpent is conceivable."

He raised his head, calm.

Though the ancient bloodline's integration was a long process, perhaps only completing once the heart crystal was fully absorbed, and then the talent panel might list [Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline].

But he was patient.

His ambition reached beyond.

Ronan even considered, once fully integrated with the hydra bloodline, using the Sacred Blood Tree for further purification.

Then... who would he meet in the bloodline inheritance dream?

"Buzz—"

Sensing an unusual rune fluctuation, Ronan retrieved a glowing communication stone from his spatial ring, listening intently.